Chapter 52

The female ghost's voice turned icy. "If you didn't touch me, why would I only go after you and not the others?"

"That... actually makes sense," the hot blonde Umi muttered, nodding slowly.

Natsuki's expression grew puzzled. At first glance, the ghost's logic seemed sound, but something about it nagged at him. Why did it feel so familiar?

He stared for a few seconds until a prompt slowly appeared:

[Species: Female Boxer]

[A vengeful spirit of a boxing champion. Dangerous. Do not engage in debates.]

"Human, apologize to me." The ghost's eyes gleamed menacingly as she pursued him.

Aki bowed his head, defeated. "I'm... I'm sorry."

A smile suddenly played across the ghost's face. "So you did touch me earlier?"

"What? No, I didn't!" Aki blurted out instinctively.

The ghost's voice dripped with ice. "If you didn't, then why are you apologizing?"

Natsuki could only think, "..."

It dawned on him that whether living or dead, some girls had unreasonableness etched into their very souls. Forcing an apology, then using that apology as proof of guilt – how devious!

As Aki opened his mouth to protest, the ghost abruptly released him. A strange smile crept across her face.

"Listen, I really didn't touch her!" Aki backpedaled, sweat beading on his forehead. "I'm not even into 3D girls. They're too much trouble, too boring, impossible to understand. They're not nearly as cute as 2D girls. Why would I touch a ghost?"

"Excuse me?" The hot blonde planted a hand on her hip. "You're saying real girls aren't cute? That's only because you've never met a truly cute girl."

"Exactly!" Chika nodded vigorously. "Kaguya is super adorable!"

"Are you for real?" Natsuki couldn't help but stare at the pink-haired girl. How could anyone call the Ice Queen of their school "super adorable"?

Suddenly, the subway car, which had been running smoothly, let out an eerie screech. The lights flickered and died, plunging everything into darkness.

"Hey! Why'd it get so dark?" Chika's frightened voice pierced the blackness. A hand reached out, grasping blindly.

Natsuki clasped it silently, then gripped a handrail with his other hand. "Don't panic," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Does anyone have a light?"

"We could use our phones..." Umi started, then caught herself. "Oh, right. Sorry, I forgot we can't bring them in here."

A strange vibration shuddered through the car, followed by the hiss of doors sliding open.

Aki's panicked cry cut through the darkness: "Something's got my leg!"

His voice choked off abruptly.

An eerie silence fell over the car.

Moments later, light flooded back into the subway, as if nothing had happened. The car remained deserted, filled with the same dim lighting and brooding passengers.

"I thought I was gonna die," Chika gasped, her face pale. "That boy... he's gone!"

Natsuki nodded grimly, scanning the car. "I saw."

The guy in glasses who'd been ranting about 2D girls – Aki – had vanished without a trace. In a horror game, that kind of disappearance usually meant one thing: you weren't coming back.

"I heard the doors open," the short-haired girl whispered nervously. "You don't think... a spirit dragged him out?"

Natsuki glanced at the doors. "It's possible."

Chika's face fell further, guilt creeping into her voice. "I hope we can save him somehow."

"There's nothing we could've done," Natsuki shook his head. "We couldn't see a thing."

His skills for dealing with thugs were useless if she couldn't even see the target. Some "combo move" that turned out to be.

"Should we try another car?" the blonde suggested, her usual confidence shaken.

"Let's search this one again first," Natsuki replied, a hunch forming.

He took the lead, the three girls following close behind. They moved cautiously through the car, but after a while, found themselves right back where they started.

"We're going in circles!" Chika cried. "What is this, some kind of infinite train?"

Not truly infinite, Natsuki thought, but definitely looping. As long as it didn't stop...

He glanced up at the station sign. "The subway stopped once when the lights went out."

"You're right," Chika looked up eagerly. "There are still four stops until Kisaragi Station. Even if we wanted to stay on, we couldn't possibly–"

Her words cut off in a shriek.

Natsuki whirled around to see the female ghost from earlier, its cold fingers wrapped around Chika's wrist. Blood-tears streamed down its face as it grinned with unsettling glee.

"Human, you actually touched me?"

Natsuki inwardly groaned. The ghost was using the same line again!

"I didn't touch you!" Chika instinctively protested.

This time, no one doubted her. Unlike Aki, who might have been enough of a creep to grope a ghost, Chika had zero reason to do something so weird.

"W-what?" Chika stammered, shaking her head frantically. "No, I didn't!"

The ghost's voice turned menacing. "If you didn't, why would I grab you and not the others?"

Chika fell silent, the absurdity of the accusation finally sinking in. It was pure slander, twisting logic to trap her!

"Natsuki!" she pleaded, eyes begging for help.

Natsuki nodded slightly, then grabbed the ghost's wrist. "So, you touched me?" he challenged.

"Subway pervert, caught you red-handed!" Natsuki declared boldly.

The ghost's eyes widened in confusion. "What did you say?"

"Why did you touch me just now?" Natsuki pressed, his face dead serious.

The ghost recoiled. "You're a boy! Are you seriously accusing me of harassment?"

"What's being a boy got to do with it?" Natsuki shot back. "Boys can't be harassed by perverts?"

"What about equality? That's sexist!"

"He's got a point," Chika muttered, nodding.

Natsuki plowed on. "I had this friend, super cute guy. The lady next door basically kept him as a pet because he was so adorable."

He fixed the ghost with a stern look. "Don't play dumb. You're that subway creep who preys on high school boys, aren't you?"

"I'm not! You're talking nonsense!" the ghost protested.

Natsuki threw the ghost's words right back at her. "Then why, out of all these passengers, did I only catch you?"

The ghost fell silent, clearly thrown off balance.

The blonde girl whispered, "I feel awful for doubting that guy with glasses earlier... What was his name again?"

The short-haired girl blinked. "An Yi-something? Sorry, I forgot."

The ghost's face contorted with rage. "Human, aren't you afraid of death?"

"Of course I am," Natsuki said quietly. "But I'm more afraid of no one speaking up when lies are spread."

"Sometimes, cruel rumors can hurt worse than dying."

"Others might be too scared to say something. I'm not."

At these words, the other ghosts on the subway lowered their heads, as if ashamed.

"Natsuki, that was amazing!" Chika's eyes sparkled with admiration.

Natsuki shot her a look. "What's so great about it? Just get over here, quickly," he muttered, beckoning with his eyes.

Truth be told, if it weren't for that earlier prompt, Natsuki wouldn't have dared say half of that nonsense. But the hint had been clear:

"What to do if a female ghost falsely accuses a player?"

The answer was simple – slander is a criminal act. It puts the accuser right on the list for "cracking down on gangsters and evil."

"Oh, right!" Chika scurried away from the ghost, hurrying to Natsuki's side.

To their surprise, the female ghost didn't make any moves. She just fixed them with an icy stare.

"Human, you'll regret this soon," she hissed.

Natsuki and the other girls retreated to a corner, putting some distance between themselves and the vengeful spirits.

"That was too close," Natsuki breathed, his heart still racing. He glanced at the others. "Everyone okay?"

The blonde nodded, still looking shaken. "Yeah, thanks to you. I can't believe you stood up to a ghost like that!"

"I'm just glad it worked," Natsuki admitted. "But we're not out of danger yet. We need to figure out how to get off this subway."

Chika frowned. "But how? It seems to just keep looping..."

Natsuki's mind raced, trying to piece together the clues they had. There had to be a way out of this nightmare. They just had to find it.